Understanding Grumpy
by TaggertShare
Summary: This is based on one of my favorite Aical Episodes. Share needs to learn how to understand Grumpy and how to best work along side of him. To do so she  must understand Depression. I've had to personally deal with two loved ones who suffer mental illness.


She was shy little bear. She had been in diapers longer than most cubs. Some cubs were playing hop scotch. To her surprise they asked her to join in. As the little bear played hop scotch she noticed her neighbor's boy cub watching. He always looked sad, she had heard some of the cubs say he was mean.

As the game progressed the little cub suddenly felt the urge to go . She wanted to wait until she had one more turn. She waited too long.  
>The other cubs began to laugh after she had wet herself. As she tried to hold back her tears the sad looking bear stepped forward and took her left paw in his right paw.<p>

"Stop laughing. I bet every one of you wet yourself when you were little." As the blue colored bear led her home he said I m your neighbor Grumpy. I heard your name was Share. I m sorry the others were mean to you. Here s your house now. I m glad I could help you.

Share could hardly believe how nice the mean bear had been. She thanked him and went inside. She never forgot what had happened.  
>Share would sometimes play with Grumpy and his sister Swifty. She became good friends with their step sister Cheer. As the years passed and the cubs grew up Share would often times find herself feeling sorry for Grumpy. When ever she heard any bear call him mean she would echo the words she had heard from his sisters, "He s not mean,<br>he s grumpy."

Share had inadvertently broken Grumpy s Cloud Express. Grumpy had been mad as heck as he tried to find the culprit. Surprise, Cheer, and Funshine were shocked when Share broke down in tears and admitted it had been her. The bears were incredulous as Grumpy immediately calmed down. When Grumpy asked Share if she wanted to help him fix it she immediately said yes. It was obvious the two bears had feelings for each other, though they had never admitted it.

Share was a little nervous about working along side Grumpy. She went to Cheer to find out how to deal with Grumpy. Cheer was happy to help her out. She was often times irritated by how the other girls treated Grumpy." Remember, Grumpy is not mean. He suffers from depression. I once saw Grumpy ask Harmony for a date. They didn t know I could see and hear them. Harmony looked like she was about to give him a kiss. Suddenly she laughed and said I don t go out with mean boys."

After she ran off I saw Grumpy hang his head and cry. I heard him say I m not mean, I m grumpy with a good reason. Later that day I 'accidentally' hit her in the head with a kick ball. I really felt like kicking her in the butt. Wait a sec and I ll go get something you should read.

Cheer came back with a small pamphlet. She handed it to Share. It was titled Understanding Depression. "Please read this, you can keep it if you want to. My advice is to take it slow with Grumpy. Listen to him, let him warm up to you. If he puts a paw on your shoulder then you know he s comfortable with you. If he takes you by the paw you ll know for sure he likes you. You ll have hit a home run if you get to hold paws with Grumpy."

That evening Share read the pamphlet. As she read it she began to understand Grumpy. She thought of the sad cub that had grown up next door. She thought of the sad looking teen cub who couldn t find a date. She felt guilty that she had once turned him down because she was too nervous to go out with him. She didn t want to believe the stories she had heard of the mean bear. But the stories had made her hesitant.

Share was a little nervous when she arrived at Grumpy s garage the next morning. Grumpy seemed his usual self as he showed Share what to do. As the morning progressed his mood seemed to lighten. He was very polite when Share asked where the bathroom was. He made coffee and had donuts ready for break time. Finally he turned to Share and said "That s enough work for today. I ll be glad when this is finished. I plan on selling it to Good Luck. One business is enough for me. He can have a delivery service, I just like fixing things and tinkering."

Grumpy put his paw on Share s shoulder. "I really enjoyed working with you. Could you please come back tomorrow morning. I would like you to be here when I test this out." Share had been delighted when he had put his paw on her shoulder. She remembered what Cheer had said. Share promised she would be back. As she stepped out side she realized she had left her purse. She went back inside. She saw Grumpy sitting on a chair, back turned to her. She froze as her ears picked up an unexpected sound. Grumpy was weeping.

As Share quietly crept out with her purse she heard Grumpy talking to himself. "Why can t I tell her how I feel. Maybe she ll give me a chance, unlike the other girls. I just don t want to be turned down again. I hurt inside enough already." Just as Share got to the door she heard Grumpy exclaim what the heck . That was the last she heard. When she got home she could not get what she had witnessed and heard out of her head.

The next day Grumpy seemed his usual self as he and Share finished The Cloud Express. He pointed out a package and told Share to put it into the Express. As he punched in some co-ordinates he said I hope this works. I ll be so glad to sell and be rid of this thing . He and Share were both delighted as the Cloud Express rose up and left the building.  
>In a few minutes it came back and dropped off the package near Share.<p>

Grumpy looked at Share with a strange look on his face. "Did you tell any one what you saw yesterday afternoon?" Share was puzzled, "What did I see?" Grumpy pointed to a mirror. "I saw you in the mirror as you left with your purse."

Share didn t know what to say. "I would never tell any one I saw you cry. I kind of like you, even though I ve never dared to tell you." Share looked like she was about to cry. Grumpy put his paw on her shoulder. "You didn t notice the name on the package, did you?"

Share reached for the package. It was addressed To Share Bear, From Grumpy, The not so always mean bear. Share was speechless. She opened it, inside there was a replica of the heart shaped necklace she had once sacrificed when Grumpy needed to make a new part for Wing Nut. Share stared in disbelief. She turned back toward Grumpy.

Grumpy was looking down at the ground. He shuffled his feet and looked back up. He had a nervous look on his face. He put both of his paws on her shoulders. "I hope you like it. It s the only way I can think of to let you know how I feel about you."

Oh Grumpy! Share was so overcome with emotion she started to cry. Grumpy pulled her closer to him and hugged her. Gee, I didn t want to make you cry. Share put her arms around him and held him tight. She didn t care that she and Grumpy were both dirty and sweaty from their work. She rewarded Grumpy by giving him his first real kiss. Soon the sounds of passion were echoing within the walls of Grumpy s garage.

The next morning Cheer saw Share walking toward her. She stopped her and asked so how did it go with Grumpy? Share tried her best to imitate the wry half smile Grumpy would sometimes flash. "Well, he's not mean. He s a great guy and a very good kisser. That s all I can tell you." Share giggled and walked away. She was almost skipping as she headed down the street.

Cheer stopped by at the garage. Grumpy seemed to be in a good mood for once. Well Grumpy Bear, how did you like working with Share? Grumpy flashed a full smile. Well she s real sweet and very nice to be with. Cheer wanted to press Grumpy for some more info. "Come on Grumpy, I m practically your sister. What happened?" "The only other thing I ll tell you is I now know what it s like to get a real kiss and that being with a girl can be fun. You just may get a sister in law someday."

Grumpy had asked Share to go on a date with him. After leaving the Cafe he sat with her in Funshine Meadows. He had something important to say to her. "Share, I really love you so I m going to explain some things to you. I can never be a perfect mate. I suffer from bouts of depression. I m not one of those kissy kissy, huggy huggy bears. I m not into holding paws and rubbing noses in public."

"Oh Grumpy. I don t need a perfect mate. No bear is perfect. Just sitting with you makes me feel good. Talking with you is enough to make me happy. I m not the huggy kissy type either. I've always been shy.  
>I am willing to learn all I can about depression. I ll stand by you no matter what life throws at us."<p>

The Care Bears of Carealot noticed a change in Grumpy. He was less moody and easier to get along with. He and Share were often seen walking and talking together. Sometimes they were spotted holding paws and even rarer rubbing noses. It seemed as if they were trying to hide the fact that they were in love.

Grumpy and Share finally admitted their love publicly when they sent out invitations for their Mating Ritual Day. Many of the recipients said "it's about time those two became Mates". Many bears attended the Ritual just to get a chance to see Share and Grumpy rub noses publicly.

Life as a Mated Pair was not always perfect for Share and Grumpy. Grumpy still had bouts of depression, although they were fewer and less severe. He could always count on Share to stand by her mate.  
>Grumpy was not the huggy kissy type, but he always found ways to let Share know he loved her.<p>

It had been one of those days. Grumpy had gotten little done in his garage. It seemed as if every repair job had a glitch. He was tired as he entered the house. A wonderful aroma greeted his nose. Share called out "is that you Grumpy? Supper is almost ready".

Grumpy felt much better. He was sitting on the couch. His tummy was full of Share's great cooking. Share entered the living room. "Come sit here on the couch with me" he said to Share. After Share had sat down he moved closer to her. He had a wry half smile on his face. He kissed his finger, touched his nose, and then touched Share's nose. This was the Care Bear equivalent of blowing a kiss.

"Oh Grumpy" Share said with a giggle. She put her arm around Grumpy's shoulder and snuggled up against him. The two bears didn't talk, they didn't kiss. Both of them loved just sitting close to each other. They didn't need to talk or kiss when sitting side by side. Life was just fine as long as they were together. Sharing a life together was all either needed. Sharing their lives together was enough to make even Grumpy smile.


End file.
